Midwinter Dream

Never let it be said that we are fair weather runners, and to prove that point, Martin and I headed off down to Seaton last Saturday evening to join Axe Valley Runners on their annual Midwinter Dream.  We met up with the other hard core runners at the Hook and Parrot at 6pm when the temperature was a balmy minus 4 or so and set off along the coast path towards Beer, seven (fool) hardy souls.

We followed the route of the Grizzly across to Branscombe Mouth, even venturing down onto the beach for a short stretch and finding the shingle much easier than usual to run on as it was frozen solid!  A sharp climb up the other side and then through the trees finally dropping down to our first welcome break at the Fountainhead pub - where we promptly divested ourselves of several layers of outer clothing and hung it round the glowing log fire.  Fortunately, probably something to do with the inclement weather, there were very few other customers to object as we huddled round the fire for a few blissful minutes and enjoyed (I think) a lovely glass of cold beer.

It was oh so hard to leave the warmth and head back outside, turning inland now for another climb and knowing that we had five miles of running through the snow before the next break. The route was not so familiar now, lots of wood, lots of snow, a brief moment of bashing around in the undergrowth when even Garry managed to lose the path, finally emerging onto the road and arriving at the soup stop, a strategically parked car with flasks of steaming hot and very welcome leek and potato soup.  Not quite so festive but infinitely more warming than beer!

The temperature seemed to be dropping and as we headed down to the river crossing near Colyton it was not a hard decision to detour to the bridge crossing rather than wading through the ford as we normally do.  A nice flat section of easy running across snowy fields by the river and we were soon heading through the deserted streets of Colyton, the Kingfisher pub our destination and another brief break from the cold as we refuelled and defrosted.

It was getting late and even colder and we were all beginning to flag a bit so when a short cut was mentioned it wasn't long before Garry had a mutiny on his hands and all but he and one other runner abandoned ship and scurried towards Seaton in rat-like fashion. The last few miles were definitely a test of endurance as we slithered along slippery roads, our only thoughts now on warmth, food and rest.  We finally arrived back around 10.30pm and taking leave of our companions headed for the camper van where we had foolishly decided to spend the night.

Firstly I couldn't get my shoes off because the laces were frozen solid and so were my fingers! After some very welcome Indian food, which barely touched the side, we settled in for the night but we couldn't get warm no matter how many layers we put on. Finally, after a few sleepless hours, we got up, scraped the ice off the inside of the windscreen and slithered back over the icy roads to the warmth and comfort of Sydling, arriving at about 3am when the whole dream felt like it had turned into a bit of a nightmare!

Apart from the cold it was a brilliant evening, a great route, great company and the snow certainly turned it into a special experience........but I'm really hoping for a better temperature next year!